Course Descriptions

Linguistics, available as a major (39 credits) and a minor (18 credits), is based on courses in anthropology, communication, education, English, modern languages, philosophy, psychology, and speech and hearing. For details about the program, contact the Department of Anthropology, CB 119, 687-2414.

LIN 120 Introduction to Language and Linguistics (4-0-4). This course provides an introduction to the properties of human languages and to their systematic study in the field of linguistics. It provides the groundwork for future studies of language and communication in a broad range of disciplines: linguistics, modern languages, ESL, communication, sociolinguistics, and anthropological linguistics. It is assumed that students have had no prior course work or exposure to linguistics and will begin with the basic assumptions that are shared by those who study language from a variety of perspectives. Cross-listed with ANT 120. Return to top

LIN 260Language, Culture and Society (4-0-4). Overview of the study of language in its cultural and social contexts. Topics may include the formation and maintenance of speech communities, variation of language within and across speech communities, how languages change in contemporary social contexts, the range of uses of language in social context, the verbal arts, oral folklore, and the development of writing systems. This course does not presume a background in either linguistics or anthropology. Cross-listed with ANT 260. Return to top

LIN 293 Topics in Linguistics (4-0-4). Topics reflect material of special or timely interest, such as languages of the city, languages of Africa, effects of globalization on linguistic diversity, cognitive semantics. May be repeated up to 12 credit hours when topics vary. Return to top

LIN 310 Traditional Grammar (4-0-4 credits). Survey of traditional grammar, its history and present use in the schools. Return to top

LIN 311 Elements of Linguistics (4-0-4). Survey of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and psycholinguistics with reference to modern English. Cross-listed with ENG 311. Return to top

LIN 313 Studies in Linguistics (2 to 4 credits). Core course in a mainstream linguistic topic, such as American English dialects, historical linguistics, history of the English language, semantics, or socio-linguistics. May be repeated with change of topic. Cross-listed with ENG 313, with ANT 344 Sociolinguistics, and with courses in other departments as appropriate. Return to top

LIN 314 Applied Linguistics (2 to 4 credits). Course in the professional application of linguistics, such as language diversity and teaching English, lexicography, or English as a second language. May be repeated with change of topic. Cross-listed with ENG 314. Return to top

LIN 315 Introduction to the English Language (4-0-4). An overview of the main components of a linguistic description of English and of the history of the language with an introduction to some relevant areas of applied linguistics: language acquisition, regional and social dialects,socio-linguistics, and pragmatics. Cross-listed with ENG 315. Return to top

LIN 318 Language Analysis (2 to 4 credits). Prerequisite: Introductory linguistics course or strong background in a foreign language. Topics may include Sanskrit, Hittite, Classical Armenian, Old English, Old Norse, or Gothic, studied with an emphasis on grammar and linguistic issues. May be repeated as the continuing study of one language, or with a change of topic. A two-semester sequence of one language (such as Sanskrit I and II), or a semester of Old English followed by a semester of Old Norse or Gothic, may satisfy the Arts and Sciences foreign-language requirement. Students who take Sanskrit I and II (4 credits each) may take second year Sanskrit III and IV (2 credits each). Cross-listed with ENG 318 and MLA 318. Return to top

LIN 340 Phonology (4-0-4). Prerequisites: ANT 120 or LIN 120, Introduction to Language and Linguistics or ENG 311 or LIN 311, Elements of Linguistics. Introduction to the scientific study of the sound systems of the world's living languages. Includes discussion of the basics of phonetic transcription and phonemic analysis and the development of formal models in phonology. Topics include articulatory and acoustic phonetics, the phoneme, phonological rules and representations, nonlinear models, harmony processes, prosodic morphology, and sound symbolism. Cross-listed with ANT 340. Return to top

LIN 341 Morphology and Syntax (4-0-4). Prerequisites: ANT 120 or LIN 120, Introduction to Language and Linguistics or ENG 311 or LIN 311, Elements of Linguistics. Introduction to the description and analysis of word formation processes and sentence structure from a crosslinguistic perspective. Instruction in basic morphemic analysis and constituent testing using data drawn from languages outside the Indo-European family. Also includes an introduction to typological analysis in the study of morpho-syntax. Cross-listed with ANT 341. Return to top

LIN 342 Languages in Contact (4-0-4). Introduction to the study of linguistic responses to culture contact in a variety of socio-historical contexts. Topics include language and trade, language and colonialism, pidgins and pidginization, creoles and creolization, dialect contact, and the formation of koines. Cross-listed with ANT 342 and MLA 342. Return to top

LIN 347 Maya Hieroglyphic Writing I (4-0-4). This course provides an introduction to Classic Maya writing and texts from a linguistic and anthropological perspective. After an introduction to the origins and functions of writing in Mesoamerica, specifically Classic Mayan culture, students will learn to read Classic Mayan texts. They will examine aspects of the grammatical structure of relevant languages, the relationship of spoken languages to the script, and develop strategies for decipherment based on our understanding of modern Mayan languages. After learning how to decipher texts and supplying linguistic values to written signs, students will analyze and interpret a body of Maya texts for information of general anthropological and linguistic interest such as dynastic history, social and political organization, language and ethnicity, ritual, cosmology, belief systems, verbal morphology and syntax, and local ecology. Return to top

LIN 438 Dialect Differences in the Schools (2-0-2). Study of certain aspects of urban language patterns with special attention to linguistic features of those persons described as culturally different. Investigation and discussion of literature on oral language variations as related to listener attitudes, social and economic consequences, school success, and questions concerning approaches to the problem of speech and language specialists. Analysis and evaluation of language samples. Cross-listed with SPH 438. Return to top

LIN 447 Maya Hieroglyphic Writing II (4-0-4). Prerequisites: LIN 347. This course serves as a second, advanced follow-up course in Maya hieroglyphic writing. Its aim is to build on the students' basic knowledge and understanding of the principles and tenets of Maya hieroglyphic writing, learned in LIN 347: Maya Hieroglyphic Writing I, and apply these principles to a series of more challenging texts that are designed to hone and refine a student's skills as an epigrapher. Students will be trained in suggesting ways of establishing the meaning or readings of unknown glyphic elements in order to better understand and evaluate the overall meaning of the text. In general terms, students will integrate both archaeology and epigraphy to reach a more sophisticated understanding of Maya hieroglyphic decipherment and its implications for revising our current understandings of Classic Maya Civilization. Return to top

LIN 490 Linguistic Internship (1 to 2 credits). Prerequisites: course and permission of the faculty anchor and field supervisor. Internships are available in three fields: teaching adult English as a second language, computer-assisted accent reduction, and lexicography. Return to top

LIN 493 Special Topics in Linguistics (2 to 4 credits). Prerequisite: course or permission of instructor. Focus on an advanced linguistic topic such as lexicography, contrastive linguistic systems, or semantics. Return to top

LIN 496 Independent Study in Linguistics (1 to 4 credits). Prerequisites: Linguistics major, senior standing, completion of at least two linguistics core courses, and permission of supervising professor and linguistics director. Specialized research project of particular interest to the student. May be repeated, but no more than 4 credits count toward the Linguistics major. Return to top